286

THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN.

February 8, 1918.

primary source from which this wealth originates has
its home not in Germany but in England. It is one
of the most singular phenomena in the domain of
industrial chemistry that the chief industrial nation
and the most practical people in the world has been
beaten in the endeavour to turn to profitable account
the coal tar which it possesses. We must not, how-
ever, rest upon our oars, for we may be sure that Eng-
land, which at present looks on quietly while we pur-
chase her tar and convert it into colours, selling them
to foreign nations at high prices, will unhesitatingly
cut off the source of supply as soon as all technical
difficulties have been surmounted by the exertions of
German manufacturers.” That Germany was now
relying more largely upon her own resources was shown
by the facts that, in 1897, she obtained only 52,000 tons
of coal tar from coke ovens, whilst, in 1908, she
obtained 632,400 tons from that source, and 300,000
tons from the manufacture of gas. That output of
coal tar was nearly equal to, if it did not exceed, that
of England.

In 1913, this country exported coal tar and pro-
ducts to the value of £2,362,000, made up as follows: —
Crude coal tar, 88,000 cwt., valued at £16,000; refined
coal tar and varnish, 3,071,000 gals., £68,600; pitch,
9,731,000 cwt., £1,100,000; tar oil, creosote, 37,758,000
gals., £592,000; coal tar naphtha, 515,000 gals.,
£24,600; naphthalene, 86,000 cwt., £37,700; anthra-
cene, 564,0001b., £1,400; benzol and toluol, 6,655,000
gals., £303,000; carbolic acid (phenol), 168,900 gals.,
£190,000; and aniline and coal tar oils, 1,351,0001b.,
£28,900.

After reviewing the chemical history of the coal tar
dyestuffs, Dr. Bedson mentioned as amongst the explo-
sives derived from coal tar: picric acid, trinitro-
cresol, trinitrotoluol, tetranitroaniline, tetranitro-
methylaniline, etc. ; and that the use of other nitro-
derivatives of benzene in admixture with ammonium
nitrate resulted in explosives used in mining, e.g.,
bellite, ammonite, roburite, etc.; whilst similarly,
nitro-derivatives of naphthalene found application
industrially.

Discussion.

Proposing a vote of thanks to Dr. Bedson, the
Chairman remarked that, in the present condition of
the country, it behoved coke oven managers to do their
best to produce the largest possible output of toluene,
benzol, etc., not only for the manufacture of dyes, but
of explosives. He was quite sure that there were as
capable men in this country as there were in Germany.
The only thing was that the Germans had not been
frightened to put down the shekels, whereas, in this
country, unless the industrial magnates could see their
40 per cent, down the first year, they would not do it.
He believed, however, that we were beginning to
realise the position, as instanced by the case of British
Dyes Limited, and that we should be able to get back
what we had squandered by our exports of raw material
to Germany. At one time all our anthracene went
over there, until it came down "in price to such an
extent that it was not worth while recovering at all.

The vote of thanks was cordially carried.

Mr. G. A. Phillipson remarked thaf the conditions
under which coke oven managers worked, and the way
in which they were controlled by men who had no
chemical knowledge at all, rendered it impossible for
them to launch out as they would like. In their asso-
ciation there were plenty of men who were capable of
manufacturing the products referred to by Dr. Bedson,
and of doing it on a profitable basis, but they were
not permitted to do so. He hoped the time would come
when they would be allowed to develop their cwn
plants in the natural course, and to make the products
such as had been exhibited that afternoon.

Dr. Bedson replied that there was no doubt of there
being plenty of chemical ability in this country, but
that the British capitalist needed as much education as
anyone.

THE GERMAN COAL AND IRON
TRADES.

We give below further extracts from foreign
periodicals that have reached us, showing the course
of the coal and iron trades in Germany: —

Saarbriicken Settling Prices for Coal.

The Administration of the Saarbriicken State
Collieries announces the following list of settling
prices, including coal tax, as being in force from
January 1, 1918: —

Flaming Coal.—Large, 23-20 to .24-40 mk.; screened
through-and-through, 22 to 23-40 mk.; through-and-
through, 20 to 22-40 ink.; small, 17-60 to 20 mk.

Washed Coals.—Cubes (50/80 mm.), 24-60 to 25 mk.;
nuts I. (35/50 mm.), 24-60 to 25-80 mk.; nuts II.
(15/35 mm.), 24 to 24-80 mk.; nuts III. (8/15 mm.),
23 mk.; nuts III. (4/15 mm.), 22-20 to 23-20 mk.; nuts
IV. (4/8 mm.), 21-40 mk.; nuts slack (2/35 mm.),

22-	60 mk.; nuts slack (2/15 mm.), 21-80 mk.; fine
slack, 16-80 to 17*80 mk.

Bituminous Coal. — Large, 25 mk.; through-and-
through, 21-80 to 22-20 mk.; slack, 19-60 mk.

Washed Coals.—Cubes (50/80 mm.), 25 mk.; nuts I.
(35/50 mm.), 25 mk.; nuts II. (15/35 mm.), 24-40 mk.;
nuts III. (8/15 mm.), 23-40 mk.; nuts III. (4/15 mm.),

23-	40 mk.; nuts IV. (0/8 mm.), 18-40 mk.; nuts slack
(2/15 mm.), 22 mk.; fine slack, 17-40 mk.

Coal in County Cork.—At the annual meeting of the Cork
Incorporated Chamber of Commerce, a resolution was
adopted drawing attention to extensive coal deposits at
Bromagh, 34 miles from Cork, and within 1| miles of
Rathcoole Station on the Great Southern and Western
Railway system, with a falling grade from the place where
the coal can be worked to Rathcoole Station. If a short
railway were constructed to join with the main line, it
was predicted, coal of good quality would be supplied in
considerable quantities at a moderate price.

MIDLAND INSTITUTE OF MINING, CIVIL
AND MECHANICAL ENGINEERS.

At the meeting of the Midland Institute of Mining,
Civil and Mechanical Engineers, held at the Queen’s
Hotel, Leeds, on Thursday, January 31, Mr. W. D.
Lloyd (president) occupying the chair, the following
new members were elected:—Member, Mr. G. J.
Kitchener; associate members, Mr. R. D. T. Davies,
Mr. H. Cooper; students, Mr. A. W. R. Forth, Mr.
A. T. Y. Lew.

Technical Education.

The President, referring to the resolution in favour
of the Education Bill, which was passed at the last
meeting, said the intention was to support the grant-
ing of facilities for technical education to those
students who were likely to occupy responsible posi-
tions at the mines, but, at the same time, they desired
that education should be arranged for suitable students
without interfering with the general attendance of
students of the ages of 14 to 18 at the mines. They
wished for those facilities to be granted without inter-
fering unduly with the working of the mines, which
the Bill in its present form would tend to do.

Underground Conveyors.

Mr. Harold C. Jenkins (Sheffield) then read a paper
on “ Underground Conveyors.” {See page 273.)

Discussion.

Ihe President, in moving a vote of thanks to Mr.
Jenkins, said the use of face conveyors underground
was a modern improvement in mining to which they
could look, perhaps more than to any other, for cheap-
ening the cost of getting the coal away from the face,
particularly in thin seams. Mr. Jenkins’ paper added
materially to the literature that was available on the
subject.

Mr. H. F. Smithson, who seconded, said the ques-
tion of conveyors was one which they would all have to
tackle sooner or later. The time would come when the
thick seams would begin to get worked out, and they
would have to look to the thin seams; and to him it
would appear that the only profitable way of working
thin seams in the future would be by the use of con-
veyors.

The resolution was carried unanimously.

Mr. Frank Poole said at present he was acting as
deputy in two districts, in one of which shaker con-
veyors of the Meco type were in use, while a similar
plant had been delivered ready for installing in the
other. The district in which the conveyors were
already in use was on the rise side, in the Haigh Moor
seam at the Hoyland Collieries. The length of the face
was about 66 yds. They had had to leave a pillar of
coal in, which had reduced the length from 99 yds. to
66 yds., and had involved a reduction in the number
of pans; but at present they were getting some fairly
decent results. They were getting four cuts per week,
the depth of the cut being 4 ft. On the average, they
had eight colliers employed, and the average output
was 7| tons per man. The condition of the roof was
fairly good, and this assisted them greatly in the
working of the coal. It would really be an impossi-
bility to work the coal without the use of machinery,
on account of the hardness of the seam. The full
length of the face was 99 yds., but the top end, on the
rise, ran pretty near a fault having about 25 yds. of
throw in the direction of the face. At that end, even-
tually, they had a little trouble due to weight, but,
since they reduced the face, and got the benefit of the
conditions, the results had been well increased. Still,
he did not think there could be anything to grumble
at under the former conditions, because, with 15
colliers employed on the face filling the coal, it was
possible to get four and five cuts over a certain period
until the weight came on. That had to be dealt with,
but, on account of the “ neshness ” of the roof, which
was softer than the coal, it took a lot of controlling.
In the same mine, on the dip side of the face just
referred to, was another face, on which were 33 pans,
about 130 yds. long, the pans being slightly under
4 yds. in length. Recently they had passed through a
fault having a downthrow of about 4 ft. This had not
greatly assisted in the conveying. When they met
with the fault in the middle of the face, they had a
lot of trouble due to the buckling of the pans. This
was on account of the upper length of the pans having
a dip in favour of the load, while on the lower side of
the fault the gradient was not in favour of the load,
but somewhat against it. Also, being short of air to
some extent, they did not get the results which were
expected. But, now they had got clear of the fault,
things were improving, and he thought it would again
be possible to get the 7| to 8 tons per man per shift.
The number of men on the night shift employed in
ripping and in moving the conveyor averaged 10. The
average wages were about 10s. 6d. per shift, and the
average number of shifts per week 5|, for which they
were getting an average of 7J tons per collier. He
thought that was a fairly good result in the circum-
stances. On account of the shortage of men, they
were not able to get the five cuts which they thought
possible, as they had to contend with the difficulty of
men not attending work, and of having to substitute
others who were less capable. One of the chief dis-
advantages to be urged against conveying was the lack
of sufficient gob room in seams up to 2 ft. thick. In
seams from 2 ft. to 3 ft. 6 in. thick, where conveyors
were used in the majority of cases, the rippings, other
than the main levels, were only used for the packs,
but the back rippings had, of course, to be filled out
and sent to the surface. ’ This meant that the tubs
which should be available for the coal had to be used
for carrying the dirt. The time taken up in getting
the dirt to the surface and emptying it was another
drawback. Further, when emptied on the pit stead, it
was detrimental to the people and the vegetation of
the locality, because spontaneous combustion gener-
ally occurred; and it also occupied a large amount of
valuable room, which could be used for other purposes.
The fact that they were not able to pack the goaf tight

caused the damage to surface property to be much
greater than it otherwise would be. Replying to ques-
tions by Mr. Smithson and the President, Mr. Poole
stated that the coal cutter was cutting in 3 in. of dirt
at the bottom of the seam. Over this dirt there was
2 ft. 10 in. of clear coal, of a very hard nature. Then
there was a band of splint about 2 in. in thickness, and
a further 2 in. of coal, immediately over which there
was a yard of black shale, succeeded by 3 or 4 yds. of
dark bind of a very soft and friable nature. He took
it that the gas from the seam had drained into the
roof, owing to the softer nature of the latter, thus
causing the large amount of difficulty when weight
came on.

Mr. J. W. Simpkin referred to underground con-
veyors of a human, not mechanical, type. He had been
some years at a little coal field in the West of England,
where human coal conveyors had been employed for the
last three centuries. They were boys, who wore a belt
and a chain under the legs, and they dragged the coal
on the face. They did not follow the Yorkshire prac-
tice of throwing it on the face with a shovel, but it was
dragged out in cuts and taken to the gate. Formerly,
they used to take it right down to the cross gate, but
this was not done so much now. Still, even now, all
the coal was conveyed across the face on both sides by
these human coal conveyors, and this was one of the
most efficient, safe, and economical ways of getting the
coal from the face where it was dropped into the tub.
Of course, the boys had to be born and bred to the
system. They could not attempt to import that style,
or to convert the Yorkshire or North Country boy to. it
—there would be more than a strike if they did. Still,
the fact remained that here they had a typical instance
of the economical handling of coal, which had been
carried out for a number of years under all sorts of
conditions—in seams of coal from 12 in. thick up to
2 ft.; in inclinations fair, highly inclined, vertical,
reverse, and inverted; and with roofs of varying
character.

Mr. G. Blake Walker said he had found a very
great advantage in the use of conveyors. In the first
place, the getting cost had, in his case, been materi-
ally reduced by their use. But the great thing which
induced him to introduce them, and which had cer-
tainly been their justification, was the large reduction
in the number of gates required. When they had to
work a face in the ordinary way, they could not do
with more than 20 yds. on each side of the gate, and
even then it was very inconvenient in thin seams; but
with a conveyor face they could have anything from
70 to 100 yds. on each side, so that they might have
faces of 150 or 200 yds. for a main gate, and the
saving in the construction and maintenance of these
gates was very considerable. One of the great advan-
tages was that they got the face moved more quickly,
and a larger output from a given amount of face. In
a case of his own, they had averaged, on a large face
several hundred yards in length, an advance of about
5| yds. per week. This was going over the ground
very quickly, and they had got a correspondingly
increased output from that seam of coal. In fact, by
the use of conveyors they had been able to make a
seam payable which before always lost money ; and that
was the great justification, he thought, for the use of
conveyors. Whether they should be belt conveyors or
shaker conveyors largely depended on circumstances,
but the shaker conveyor was no good for going up hill.
It must be either on the level or on a down gradient.
Where they had those conditions, it was all right.
Sometimes, he thought, a combination of the two types
—a belt conveyor on the face and a shaker conveyor in
the gate—would be good. Where conveyors were used,
the coal was much better in size. The pieces were
lifted on to the belt as large as ever a man could handle
them—that was the limit. Sometimes, they had to cut
away the roof a little over the drums, or else the big
lumps jammed and stopped the belt. There was not
the least doubt, as the President had said, that con-
veyors were one of those improvements which were now
coming to the assistance of the coal trade at a time
when labour, and especially boy labour, had become so
very much more expensive than it used to be. Unless
they had these appliances, he thought they would have
to give up the game. The old-fashioned ways would
not pay in these days, and they must introduce the
most economical form of mechanical appliances if they
were to continue to work the coal profitably.

Mr. Smith (Denaby Main) thought they all ought
to be grateful to Mr. Jenkins for opening this field for
discussion amongst mining engineers. Some two and
a half years ago the firm with which he was connected
went into the question of conveyors very thoroughly,
and decided to put a conveyor installation into the
Parkgate seam, which was 5 ft. thick, to convey from
the face on to the gate conveyors. They headed the
seam out by means of heading machines, and delivered
the coal from the face on to the bords, and from the
bords on to the main conveyor. They had had their
ups and down with the installation, but the biggest
trouble was not a mechanical one, or one due to mining,
but to labour. The men were very much prejudiced
against this machine mining, and the results in output
had varied greatly. When they put in the installa-
tion they decided that, in order to obtain the best
results from it, they must do away with as many load-
ing stations as possible, so as to concentrate the loading
at one station. In order to be able to deal with it on
a large scale, they loaded on to the main haulage road
itself. They thought they would get a great deal of
economy from that, and, to his mind, the economy
that they had got out of the installation was that they
were able to dispense with all labour from the face to
the haulage road. But, unfortunately, their biggest
trouble had been in handling the labour. As they
were loading all the coal at one station, they had all
the men being paid from one station. They had as
many as 30 or 40 men whose coal was loaded at the one
station, and who all shared, and they all reduced them-
selves to the lowest level. The method took away
individuality. If they got a poor workman and put
him on the conveyors—and in these days they could not